PUMPKIN LASSI WITH GINGER, CARDAMOM & COCONUT

October 21st, 2017

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Hey, it’s another version of Happy Hour! I’ve got some excellent links AND the best use for those little bits of leftover pumpkin purée. I know that there’s a lot of pumpkin smoothies out there, and I’ve personally tried a bunch of versions myself, but I really think this one is the best. It’s got some gentle spice (but not super heavy on cinnamon), a little sweetness, a kick from ginger, lemon for freshness, and that unmistakable, super creamy yogurt tang. This is my motivation for running these days. I’m opening cans of pumpkin purée just for this and then thinking about maybe making a pumpkin loaf later. Wild, right? If I had a smoothie bar (a girl can dream), this would be the Fall feature, no doubt.

Funny enough, I’m doing a little smoothie demo (the hot pink beet one from my book) at the Hamilton Farmers Market today (at 2pm if you’re local!), and then keeping it low key the rest of the weekend. Maybe a local hike, light gardening, and some laundry, which honestly sounds like heaven to me. All about that quiet life sometimes :) Anyway, to the links!

❤︎ Sometimes I think that I’m getting a few biters in the comments, but this is some advanced levelrecipe comment drama.

❤︎ SOOOO not trying to bring up the long past US election in any way, but I DO want to direct your attention to this piece on alternate nostril breathing. I’m all for intentional and productive breathing practices working their way into the mainstream by any means necessary.

❤︎ You know all of those beautifully marketed mattresses on the internet that come to your door in a little box and maybe they have cute renderings of animals in the ads? Oh and the wild amount of affiliate/sponsorship exposure that they get online? If you’re in the market, I’d give this report a glance first.

❤︎ “If a simple cleanup of my physical surroundings could feel this good, what could decluttering the rest of my life do?” SO MUCH YES. I’ve done this de-cluttering to the tune of 100 items before, and it really does shift your perspective with everything else in life. You have to really want to make space AND change.

❤︎ More notes on cleaning up: plastic really sucks, guys. After watching A Plastic Ocean, I’ve cut down on my use significantly, but I still struggle with some things and just do my best to re-use them if I can (Hi hi 1-gallon zipper seal bags). There are so many great resources if you want to start eliminating it from your life. Start here, here, and here. I’ve never done a holiday gift guide on this site because it’s not really my thing, BUT I think I might make an exception this year and just fill out a page with all of the things that have helped me minimize waste significantly. Maybe I’ll shamelessly slap my book on there too, who knows ;)

❤︎ UPS Dogs is the only page you need to be following on Facebook (other than the TFM one obviously). I would take on a UPS driver side hustle for the epic doggie interaction alone.

❤︎ On that side hustle note: this is going to be my next Audible book (affiliate link). I always feel like my “job” is a rag-tag mix of side hustles as it stands, but why not dive deeper?

❤︎ The world of non-dairy milks grows ever larger. Have you tried pea-based milk? I’ve had the chocolate-flavoured Ripple and their version of half ‘n’ half (the vanilla flavour), and I gotta say: I truly loved both. Probably 75% of the time I’m making my own milks and whatnot at home, but the options and demand makes me hopeful about the plant-based way reaching the masses in a huge way.

❤︎ Thoughts on nutrition claims in the restaurant/hospitality realm. A personal anecdote: I was at a smoothie bar and they had jars of some of their ingredients lined up on a shelf that you could see while you were waiting in line. There were little nutrition factoid stickers on the jars facing out. A big jar of cacao powder read, among other tidbits, “MAY ASSIST WITH DIARRHEA.” I don’t know if that’s true, but more importantly: ew. Do you think I ordered their healthy, raw etc. chocolate shake on that visit? Just let me order my smoothie without any personal health-related messaging of any kind please!

❤︎ Oh one more thing: If you’re planning ahead for your holiday meals, I’ve compiled all of the plant-based holiday goodness from both my site and book in one place for your perusal. Let me know if I missed something!

pin it!PUMPKIN LASSI WITH GINGER, CARDAMOM & COCONUTPrint the recipe here!SERVES: 1NOTES: The quality of your yogurt will make a huge difference here. Out of all the retail non-dairy yogurts available, I like Anita’s the best. It’s only available in the US for now, but there are lots of great tutorials for making your own coconut yogurt online. I follow the technique in The Moon Juice Cookbook (affiliate link) when I make the effort to culture my own. Of course, if you consume dairy-based yogurt, feel free to use that. I topped mine with the extra thick cream at the top of the yogurt container, a drizzle of almond butter, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

In an upright blender, combine the pumpkin puree, yogurt, almond milk, lemon juice, maple syrup, banana, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, vanilla, and sea salt. Blend on high until the pumpkin lassi is completely smooth and creamy. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon, almond butter drizzles, and extra coconut yogurt on top if you like.

Ok so, your dreamy weekend plans of nature hikes and laundry are literally the best weekend activities sometimes in my mind too. And I love alternate nostril breathing for getting a good, quick dose of balance. Another weekend goal added to the list – making this pumpkin lassi that sounds perfect for enjoying while reading a good book / magazine / the rest of these interesting links you’ve posted. Thanks!ReplyCancel

I can’t get over that recipe comment… what a journey! I’m glad that the commenter finally found true love though, after her first rotten husband. Also, I loved your interview in the Kitchn. I could read about you talking about food all day!! Hugs xxReplyCancel

Marsha22/10/2017 - 8:29 am

Where would I find the pumpkin loaf recipe? Love this post!ReplyCancel

Love your site! I send the link to my daughter all the time. One way I reduce plastic is by using parchment….over and over again. Instead of wrapping a ramekin/dish with plastic I use parchment and an elastic. Its also great when wrapping cheese. Keep it up buttercup!ReplyCancel

Elizabeth23/10/2017 - 1:13 pm

Ugh, the battle against plastics is tough. I also have a love/hate relationship with the gallon-size ziploc bags. I recently bought a bunch of glass storage containers from Ikea and am now trying to use them in place of those bags. But they are both smaller in volume, and bulkier. My freezer looks much more organized and I have not used one of those bags in weeks, but overall I cannot fit as much in my freezer.ReplyCancel